ŠKODA Rally Team Italia and Andreas Mikkelsen will enter the Rally Conca d'Oro in Sicily from October 28/29 aiming to clinch the coveted Italian Gravel Trophy (TRT) title in his ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000 car managed and prepared by Pierfrancesco Zanchi's team.
Co-driven by his fellow countryman Ola Fløene, the 22-year old ŠKODA star is in a strong position to become this year's Italian Gravel Trophy champion, as he leads the drivers' standings on 87.5 points after winning the previous round, the Azzano Rally, earlier this month. With an advantage of 15.5 points over second-placed Daniele Batistini, Mikkelsen's aim for the event will be to capitalise on the 1.5 scoring coefficient for the final round of the TRT to collect as many points as possible.
Pierfrancesco Zanchi, team principal of ŠKODA Rally Team Italia and ŠKODA UK Motorsport said: "It has been a very busy season for Andreas and Ola so far, as they have had to combine their participation in the Italian Gravel Trophy with the Intercontinental Rally Challenge programme they contest with ŠKODA UK Motorsport. Andreas has significantly improved his skills on gravel and has taken some great results in the TRT events this year. After winning the Rally Adriatico, the Rally San Marino and the Azzano Rally, he is more than ready for this final challenge. We are all looking forward to round off all the hard work done this year with yet more success."
Zanchi added: "Andreas is in a strong position to finish on the podium at the Rally Conca d'Oro but this is also true for his rival Daniele Batistini, who has a good chance of taking the title himself. It's the final round of the championship so it's important to have a clean run, score as many points as possible and avoid taking too many risks. The 2011 TRT title is within our reach and we will fight for it to the end."
Andreas Mikkelsen said: "The Rally Conca d'Oro will be my first event in Sicily so I will have to rely on the recce to get an idea of what the roads are like. As I'm leading the championship, my aim for the final round is just to have a good finish and secure the title. We have the speed and we know how competitive we can be on gravel roads, so as long as we don't make any mistakes we should get what I think we all deserve."
The forthcoming 31st Rally Conca d'Oro will be made up of nine stages totalling 100.5 competitive kilometres on challenging gravel roads in the northeast of Sicily. The event will be based in Corleone, near the island's capital of Palermo, and will comprise three runs over three different special stages: Pietralonga (8.4 km), Rocche di Rao (9.1 km) and Lucia (16.0 km).
The ceremonial start will take place in Corleone at 20:00 on Friday October 28, with the rally covering a full day of action on Saturday 29 October. The identity of the 2011 TRT champion will be confirmed at the end of the event, scheduled for around 18:00 local time.